The Research on Mindfulness

Over the last 20 years, we’ve seen an exponential growth in the number of peer-reviewed journal papers about mindfulness. Scientists all over the world have been examining the effectiveness of mindfulness in various contexts, including the workplace, healthcare and education.

The Proven Benefits of Mindfulness*

Emotional Wellbeing, Memory and Creativity

Mindfulness helps protect us against emotional exhaustion at work. Anxiety, stress, depression, tiredness and irritability all decrease with regular meditation.1 Working memory and creativity improve, reaction times are faster, and mental and physical stamina increases.2,3

In short, those who practise mindfulness regularly are happier and more contented, and are far less likely to suffer from psychological distress.4

Professional Performance

An emerging body of research5 is demonstrating the links between mindfulness and performance across a number of tasks. Mindfulness contributes to performance by improving cognitive flexibility and alertness, and guarding against distractions and performance blunders. In the work environment, mindfulness has value not only by increasing engagement, but also in focusing attention.

Decision Making

A mindful attitude is vital in the working environment, as it enables us to be aware of new information in any given situation. This, in turn, empowers us to make better decisions. Mindfulness training helps individuals avoid those errors and mistakes that occur when attention strays. It also enhances self-regulation and leads to the ability to appraise situations and events with greater calm and equanimity.6

Employee Turnover

Research data indicates that workplace mindfulness not only improves performance, it also increases the degree of attachment to the employer, as measured by decreased intention to seek new employment elsewhere.5

Emotional Intelligence

Mindfulness improves emotional intelligence and the ability to understand and handle one’s emotions.7

Increased Physical Wellbeing

Mindfulness can dramatically reduce pain and the emotional reaction to it.8,9 Recent trials suggest that perceived pain ‘unpleasantness’ levels can be reduced by 57%, while very experienced mindfulness practitioners report reductions of up to 93%.10

Meditation and mindfulness improve control of blood sugar in type II diabetes.11

Meditation improves heart and circulatory health by reducing blood pressure and lowering the risk of hypertension. Mindfulness also reduces the risk of developing and dying from cardiovascular disease, and lowers its severity should it arise.12

Clinical trials show that mindfulness improves mood and quality of life for sufferers of chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia13 and lower-back pain,14 in chronic functional disorders such as IBS,15and in challenging medical conditions, including multiple sclerosis16 and cancer.17

Improved Brain Functioning

Meditation enhances brain function. It increases grey matter in areas associated with self-awareness, empathy, self-control and attention.18It soothes the parts of the brain that produce stress hormones19 and builds up those areas that lift mood and promote learning.20 It even reduces some of the thinning of certain areas of the brain that naturally occurs with ageing.21

Better Immunity

Meditation improves the immune system. Regular mindfulness practitioners are admitted to hospital far less often for cancer, heart disease and numerous infectious diseases.22

*(Taken from http://franticworld.com/what-can-mindfulness-do-for-you/)